I attended the Black Lives Matter protest against police brutality in Dallas yesterday. Attending the protest allowed me to see faces of those deeply hurting from the injustice. It also allowed me to hear the voices of those in pain and those who are angry at a system that unfairly targets black Americans.
Defund The Police
I know this slogan has a lot of weight behind it. I am definitely not for abolishing the police. We need them and they provide a great service to our country overall and I’m very grateful for the work they do. But I am for rethinking how we currently do our policing to make it better and more effective for them and us.
Black Americans face, and many other Americans, routinely face injustice at the hand of the police. With this in mind, I was especially interested in the idea of rethinking public safety. It can start with giving the police departments less money for criminalizing people. This is so our cities can reallocate those resources in ways that will actually help Americans. Like having a team of people that are specialized in crisis management, mental illnesses, deescalation, and other types of needs. These teams can address the variety of emergencies cities deal with. I also think it would be a great idea to move public safety under elected boards by smaller communities. These boards can provide oversight of that community’s policing. You can read more about what it means to “defund the police” in this Wikipedia article: Defund The Police.
The Photographs
I made these photos yesterday in downtown Dallas to capture the emotion and unity at the Black Lives Matter protest. I made the photos in black and white to allow us, the viewers, to focus on the people and the energy of the protest.
Our county wants to be an example of freedom and equality to all the world. Certainly, that can’t truly happen until racism is eradicated from our justice system. And until people like George Floyd and Breonna Taylor stop dying unjustly.
To a cause against racism or police brutality, check out these resources:
Official George Floyd Memorial Fund
Black Lives Matter
Communities United For Police Reform
Not In Our Town
YWCA Stand Against Racism
Showing Up For Racial Justice
Comments